TOP - February 2013 VOL 6, NO 1

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome injection (Sun Pharma Global FZE) for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer with disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy and for the treatment of AIDS-related sarcoma in patients after failure of systemic chemotherapy or intolerance to that therapy. Approval for doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome injection was granted on February 4, 2013. Read More ›

According to the World Health Organization, one-third of all cancer cases are preventable.1 When individuals choose the right health behaviors and avoid exposure to certain environmental risk factors, prevention becomes the most long-term cost-effective approach for curtailing cancer.2 The following statistics examine policy factors and behavioral prevention strategies. Read More ›

Oncology Pharmacy: Designing Pathways and Guidelines for Disease Management Read More ›

I spent 8 long months in a city far from my own, undergoing intense chemotherapy and then an autologous stem cell transplant. Eventually, after a longer-than-I-would-have-liked stay in the hospital and another few weeks living close to the hospital in case of emergency, I was sent back home with a bagful of medicines and instructions on how/when/with what to take them. Read More ›

Peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) may be an adverse effect of nilotinib treatment in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), according to a study presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Read More ›

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) researchers showed that cryotherapy given at the time of high-dose melphalan reduced the incidence of severe oral mucositis and the need for pain medicine in patients with multiple myeloma who are undergoing autologous stem cell support. Read More ›

The administration of the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat in patients undergoing matched related donor reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants could be an effective approach to reducing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), according to the first-in-human clinical trial of 45 patients. Read More ›

Updated findings from the pivotal phase 2 Ponatinib Ph+ ALL and CML Evaluation (PACE) trial found robust activity and sustained benefit for the investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib in heavily pretreated patients with accelerated or blast-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Read More ›

In patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplants, genetic factors may influence susceptibility to congestive heart failure related to anthracyclines used prior to transplant, City of Hope researchers found. Read More ›

Among children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the presence of a specific genetic marker known as WT1 SNP rs16754 may be associated with reduced chemotherapy-related toxicity and reduced treatment-related toxic deaths if they are African American or Asian, a phase 2 Children’s Oncology Group trial suggested. Read More ›